Upholstery pad



Patented July 19, 1949 U'PHOLSTERY' PAD Herb rt M, Gaarder and Ray E. Conner h 111., a s gnors to W n &. Ca. Inc-, Chicago.

Ill... a corp ration of Delaware No Drawing. Application May- 1, 1947', Serial, No. 145.25":

4 (31mins.- 1

This invention relates to cushioning structures such as upholstery pads, seat cushions, mattresses, rug liners and the like, and to a method for their manufacture.

Upholstery pads and similar structures used for cushioning purposes are of several general types. One type includes structures consisting essentially of intermingled fibers, such as animal hair or plant fibers, held in association by means of a binder, such as rubber latex applied thereto. Such cushioning structures are commonly made by packing the fibrous material in an open mesh wi mold of the desired siz shape. and thi k.- ness, and applying a liquid binder to it. after dry and curing the thusly treated structure. it is ready for use, Such cushion structures are characterized by good resilience, "cushioning effect, and particularly by t e excellent ventilation they provide due to their open, fibrous struc ture. This. latter characteristic important in providing a cool and comfortable effect. on ones body when it in contact with upholstery cushions, seat. cushions, mattresses and the. like, particularly in warm Weather. A disadvantage of this type, or cushion structure i tha it does not have he prin -like characteristics of. other types of such structures.

Another type of cushion structure which has found extensive, use in the manufacture of mattresses, seat cushions, upholstery pads, rug pads and the like, is one made of foamed rubber, such as sponge rubber. Cushion structures of this material have excellent structural strength and resiliency and the cushioning effect of such structures more nearly approaches thatproduced by coiled springs than do other types of cushion pads. However, due to the characteristic internal structure .of foamed rubber, air does not move through the body of the structure veryreadily, With the result that foamed rubber seat cushions, mattresses and like products frequently produce a clammyand uncomfortable efiecton the body of a person in contact therewith, particularly in warm weather.

To overcome the disadvantages inherent in present day cushion structures, and to provide a cushion structure having excellent resilience, cushioning effect and structural characteristics which are conducive to good ventilation, this invention contemplates a structure comprising a mixture of discrete pieces of foamed rubber uniformly intermingled with a fibrous material, and a resilient binder therefor.

In producing such a structure according to the present invention, fibrous material, such as animal, vegetable or synthetic fiber. is thoroughly mixed with pieces of foamed rubber until a uniform mixture of the two is formed. This mixture is then formed to a desired size. shape and thickness. either by placing the mixture in an open mesh wire mold, or. between open mesh wire el s, or in. any o h r manner. The thusly confined mixture may be steamed, and dried in order to set the fibrous material before pplying a binder to the said mixture, or the binder may pplied to. the confined. mixt re with u the aforesaid steaming step. The liquid binder'may be applied to the. confined mixture of sponge rubber pieces and fibrous material by spraying, dipping or in any other manner as is well known to those skilled in the art. After application of the binder, the confined mixture may be heated or otherwise treated to dry the mixture. After drying, curing and removal, from the mold or from between the screens, the resulting structure is ready for use.

In preparing the mixture of the present invention, we prefer to use animal hair such as hog hair, cattle tail hair, horsetail hair and horse mane hair, though other types of fibers such as tula, Tampico, cocoanut fibers or synthetic fibers can be used with good results. The hair, or other type of fibrous material, may be artificially curled or left in the natural state, though we prefer to use curled hair because of the added springiness it imparts tothe finished structure.

The size and shape of the pieces of sponge rubber used may vary, though We prefer to use irregularly shaped pieces, with an average diameter of about one-eighth of aninch to about one-half inch. We have found that irregularly shaped pieces of foamed rubber form a more stable structure when mixed with the fibrous material than do pieces having a regular shape. The proportion of fibrous material to foamed rubber We prefer to use is from about 10% to byweight of the former to about 25% to by weight of the latter, though somewhat more or less of one or the other of the elements of the mixture can be used without seriously impairing the cushion structure. We prefer to use a liquid binder such as natural or synthetic latex though, of course, other types of liquid binders can be used, such as resins, glues and the like, as is well known in the art. It is understood, of course, that the binder may be applied to the mixture of fibrous material and foamed rubber either before or after forming the mixture to a desired size, shape, and thickness. Preferably, we apply the binder to the said mixture after it has been given a definite structural form, as by molding or otherwise forming it. We have found that when a mixture of fibrous material and foamed rubber tinuous manner, as by passing the said mixture is sprayed with or dipped into a binder, the

some of its resiliency on drying, due to the ac-" cumulation of binder in the pores of the rubber,

We have further found that we can retain the binder in such a manner that a lattice work of V the said binder is formed on the surface and at least partially through the body of'the preformed, loosely associated dry mixture of fibrous material and pieces of foamedr'ubber.- This may be accomplished by passing the aforesaid preformed structure across the path of fall of,

one or more streams of-liquid binder to form a crisscross pattern on the surface and at least partially. through the body. of the structure, or in any. other way. After the applied binder has dried and cured, the structure is ready for use.

on a moving belt through a series of falling streams of latex, or' in other ways evident to those skilled in the art. It can be seen also that a loose dry mixture of fibers and pieces of foamed rubber can be used advantageously as an upholstery stuffing material where a pro-formed structure of such materials is not needed.

10, These and other embodiments we consider resiliency of the foamed rubber by applying the within the purview of our invention, and we do not 'intend that it be limited in scope except as necessitated by the appended claims.

We claim: 3

1. A cushioning structure comprising a mixture of substantially uniformly intermingled fibers and discrete pieces of foamed rubber bonded into a unitary mass by an elastic binder applied as a lattice work over the surface of the said mixture, the proportion of fiber in the mixture offiber and pieces of foamed rubber being from about 10% to 75% by weight of said mixture."

2. A cushioning structure comprising a mixture of substantially uniformly intermingled fibers 'Accordingto the preferred embodiment of our invention, which is illustrative only and not to be construed as limiting, one-half pound of curled hog hair and one-half pound of irregularly shaped pieces'of sponge rubber having an average diameter. of three-eighths of an inch were thoroughly mixed so that thepieces of rubber and the hair were uniformly intermingled. This mixture was then placed in an open mesh wire mold eighteen inchessquare and two inches deep, and the material packed down slightly in order to densify the mixture. The mold was then passed through falling streams of .rubber latex, the streams being about one-quarter inchthick and spaced about one and one-half inches apart. 'The excess binder was allowed to drain from the underside of the pad. A wire screen was then placed across the top of the mold, the mold turned upside down,

dried in a current of air at 120 F. for one hour.v

Then the structure was placed ina curing oven at 220F. for one hour. On removal from the oven, the pad was ready for use. i

Such a cushion structure is highly resilient, has excellent comeback after compression, and possesses good structural strength. It is superior to ordinary fiber or hair cushion structures in its cushioning efieot and possesses spring-like characteristics. It is superior to the ordinary foamed rubber cushion structures, in that its open, fibrous structure is conducive to good ventilation and to the dissipation of perspiration and body heat. i

It is evident that the present invention is applicable to the manufacture of all types of cushion structures. It is clear, also, that the lattice work of binder can be applied to the mixture'of fibrous material and pieces of foamed rubber in a conand discrete pieces of foamed rubber bonded into a unitary mass by a rubber latex binder applied as av lattice work over the surface of the said mixture, the proportion; offiber in the mixture of fiber and pieces of foamed rubber being from about 10% to 75% by weight of said mixture.

. 3. A cushioning structure comprising a mixture of substantially uniformly intermingled fibers and discrete pieces of foamedrubber bonded into a unitary mass by. an elastic binder applied in spaced intervals between the fibers and pieces of foamed rubber of said mixture, the proportion of fiber in the'mixtureof fiber and pieces offoamed rubberbeingfrom about 10% to.75% by weight of said mixture. v V, 7 V

4; A cushioningstructure comprising'a mixture of substantially uniformly intermingled animal fibers and discrete pieces of foamedrubber bonded into a unitary mass by a rubber latex binder appliedas a lattice Work over the surface of the said mixture, the proportion of animal fiber. in the mixture of animal fiber and pieces of foamed rubber being from about 10%to byweight of said mixture. l

HERBERT MVGAARDER. RAY E. COOPER.v

' REFERENCES CITED l The following references are of record 'inthe file of this patent? vUNrrEn s'TATE'sPAT NTs,

1 Date Greenup et al ..-July 21,1942 

